# Staff Staph infection **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162 "2010-04-06T17:01:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Niteowl255](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Niteowl255](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niteowl255)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/1 "2010-04-06T17:01:33Z")
Where do Staph infection come from? Why are they so frequent in hospitals? When I first heard of it I though it was a “Staff” infection. Some sort of infection that hospital staff had be were immune to but that they kept passing it on the patients which made me ask, why were they not vaccinated for that? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/2 "2010-04-06T17:14:10Z")
“Staph” refers to _[Staphylococcus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcus)_ which is a particular type of bacteria that live on your skin. There are mutiple different types, but the strain that most often causes [skin infection](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcal_infection)in humans is _[Staphylococcus aureus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcus_aureus)_. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/3 "2010-04-06T17:25:27Z")
> **[Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methicillin-resistant_Staphylococcus_aureus)** > > Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It caused more than 100,000 deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance in 2019. > MRSA is any strain of S. aureus that has developed (through natural selection) or acquired (through horizontal gene transfer) a multiple drug resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics... to expand on divers post, this is often the nasty that worries hospitals. It can run wild on otherwise healthy adults sometimes with lethal consequences…nasty nasty bug. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/4 "2010-04-06T17:25:30Z")
It’s a bacterial infection, it is very very comon, it frequently llives on your skin, in your nose ears where it is no problem at all. Vaccination is a long way off, this has eluded medical science for years, speculation is that it shifts it shape - effectively - and any vaccine will need to have multiple components to handle this. Given that antibiotocs often have limited lifetimes, a vaccine would be highly desirable, and a huge prize awaits the company that can do it, it is not for lack of trying that there is not currently a vaccine. Staphylococcus Aureus was the first infectious agent that was knowingly treated by Pennicillin, I believe a former Policeman has a bad case and this was tried as a last dich measure, unfortunately, although it bought him some time, there just was not enough of the extract to treat him fully, but his temporary respite proved that this would be an effective treatment. > **[Albert Alexander](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Alexander)** > > Albert Alexander may refer to: ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/5 "2010-04-06T17:58:11Z")
Staph has been causing skin and soft tissue infections for as long as there’s been skin and soft tissue. The miracle cure for this was found in penicillin. Unfortunately, within a few decades, strains of staph developed which were resistant to penicillin. This currently led us up to the common “Community-acquired Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus” strain, or CA- MRSA. Fortunately CA-MRSA is still pretty susceptible to sulfa antibiotics, along with tetracyclines and clindamycin. It can cause much worse infections, but fortunately most of its manifestations are in the surface tissue, and easily treated, usually by simple incision and drainage or topical antibiotics. There’s no vaccine for staph, and it commonly lives on skin without causing disease, so that is often how it is spread. QtM, who has treated 4 staph infections in 2 days, 3 of them CA-MRSA. [sub]Come work for me in my department, and I’ll inflict a powerpoint on you, written by me, which explains a lot about staph & CA-MRSA in prisons[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/6 "2010-04-06T18:06:05Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [sub]Come work for me in my department, and I’ll inflict a powerpoint on you, written by me, which explains a lot about staph & CA-MRSA in prisons[/sub] Can you PDF that and upload it somewhere? I’d actually like to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/7 "2010-04-06T19:43:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Can you PDF that and upload it somewhere? I’d actually like to read it. Give me a site to upload it to, and I’ll try it. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/8 "2010-04-06T19:52:57Z")
I bet lots of us would like to read it. I would. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/9 "2010-04-06T20:12:48Z")
[YouSendIt](http://www.yousendit.com/), [MegaUpload](http://www.megaupload.com/), [Rapidshare](http://rapidshare.com/)–those should all work. Or you could maybe throw it up on Google Docs? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/10 "2010-04-06T22:15:30Z")
[CA-MRSA presentation](http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AdSRJMt3E_tMZGR4Mnd2dnRfMTAyZGg2Y2pnYg&hl=en) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/11 "2010-04-06T22:24:42Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [CA-MRSA presentation](http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AdSRJMt3E_tMZGR4Mnd2dnRfMTAyZGg2Y2pnYg&hl=en) Nice Preso. My only complaint was I was hoping for a picture of “the purse” on slide 25… ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/12 "2010-04-06T22:30:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [CA-MRSA presentation](http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AdSRJMt3E_tMZGR4Mnd2dnRfMTAyZGg2Y2pnYg&hl=en) Awesome, thanks for that! I just read the whole thing while I waited for a meeting to finish up so I can get the hell out of here. Also: I didn’t realize you were a fellow 'Sconnie–hiya! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/13 "2010-04-06T23:01:54Z")
Outstanding! You did an amazing amount of work (and I hope you got well paid for it ;)). FWIW, we, luckily, don’t have much CA-MRSA in Canada. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/14 "2010-04-07T01:47:21Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > FWIW, we, luckily, don’t have much CA-MRSA in Canada. Yet. You’re right for now, but if you’ve got colleagues in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, and/or some neighbourhoods in Calgary, you might start to hear it’s coming! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/15 "2010-04-07T02:24:50Z")
The only thing I know for sure about _S. aurens_ infections is that they are bad, bad news. I think I mentioned my experiences with the “golden grapes” a time or two on the Dope, come to think of it… Starts on post #44 of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106449) [The sequel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=483530) Seriously, \*\*Qadgop, \*\*_MAY_ be swollen and painful? Are you kidding me? _S. aurens_ HURTS! ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/16 "2010-04-07T04:12:37Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [CA-MRSA presentation](http://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AdSRJMt3E_tMZGR4Mnd2dnRfMTAyZGg2Y2pnYg&hl=en) Nice presentation, **Qadgop**. I wish that I’d had it when I was dealing with the “golden grapes”. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/17 "2010-04-07T14:04:28Z")
Thanks, All. **Broomie** , not everyone’s abscesses are painful, and that’s a fact. **Karl** , I create 2 or so of these types of powerpoints a year (on varying primary care topics), and inflict them on my staff and colleagues, and present them at a few conferences here and there. As such, I do get decent remuneration for it, and it’s always more pleasant to teach about MRSA than it is to drain another abscess. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/18 "2010-04-10T13:12:05Z")
Here’s an interesting [NPR interview](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124999740&ft=3&f=1032) with Maryn McKenna, author of Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/19 "2010-04-10T13:28:49Z")
Many hospitals are trying to crack down on the spread of MRSA by going above and beyond handwashing (which is still a good idea). They’re testing patients on their way into the hospital to see if they’re MRSA carriers, so they can be isolated from other patients and treated to eliminate the bugs. Any patient with a positive MRSA test (I think most places are using a nasal swab) is put under contact precautions so everyone needs to wear gloves & gown when dealing with the patient. This reduces the spread. Our rapid MRSA test takes about an hour and we call all positives as “panic values” so that inpatients are isolated immediately, and the pre-surgical patients can get their prophylactic treatment before coming in for their procedures. Thanks for the presentation, Qadgop! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162/20 "2010-04-10T21:41:42Z")
**Antigen** - here you get groin, axilla and nasal swabs for MRSA, and they’ll just get you Bactroban washes and Nasosept. Isolation would be nice, but it really isn’t feasible for most patients (who are carrying MRSA as a commensal and who aren’t actually having any problems from it). Obviously contact precautions are in place even if isolation can’t be done. MRSA positive patients will usually get put onto the end of a surgical list as another infection control measure- this ensures that the theatre and recovery area can be deep-cleaned after they leave and tries to ensure as few other patients as possible are exposed. Thankfully we see very little MRSA in the community here- our Impetigos still get Fluclox or Azithromax with topical Fucidn as first line, with IV co-amoxiclav if they’re really sick. We rarely have to break out the expensive stuff (protocls here are gent+vanc for MRSA, or guided by sensitivity). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-staph-infection/535162.md?page=2)